Posts Tagged “Georgia peach shipments”
Georgia, known as the Peach state, has been growing the fruit for 140 years. Excellent peach shipments are forecast.
There are approximately 10,000 acres of Georgia peach farms stretching across the historic Fort Valley plateau. 90 percent of Georgia peaches are grown in this region of Georgia, located just south Macon and west of Interstate 75.
Georgia peach shipments are expected to get underway the third week of May, with good volume shipments occurring for deliveries prior to the May 30th Memorial Day holiday. Georgia peach shipments will continue through the end of summer.
Due to ideal winter growing conditions, Georgia peach shippers see a bumper crop that could become the biggest in more than a decade. Harvest should begin May 15th.
This year, Georgia growers and shippers expect to harvest 80 million pounds of peaches, which could pack 3 million, 25-pound half bushel cartons, double the 1.5 million cartons they packed last season. This would be the largest volume since the 2004 season.
Besides the Eastern U.S. and the Midwest, Georgia Texas and Canada are among the strongest destinations for Georgia peaches.
Good, steady peach shipments are expected through the end of August without significant peaks and valleys.
Produce trucking in the Southeast leaves something to be desired, despite it being April. You might get some partial loads in Florida and finish of the truck out in Southern Georgia where there are light shipments of vegetables such as carrots, kale and other greens.
Southern Georgia vegetables – grossing about $2200 to New York City.
Peach shipments are past their peak in Georgia, while increasing in volume from South Carolina. New Jersey peach loadings will get underway soon.
Georgia peach shipments from the Fort Valley are now in the last half of the season. Weather factors earlier in the year are going to result in only about a 60 percent crop over all. For example, Lane Southern Orchards, the state’s largest peach shipper, expects to ship about 475,000 25-pound half bushel cartons this season, compared to 750,000 bushels a year ago. Lane should be shipping into the last half August.
Georgia is moving about 100 truck loads of peaches per week.
Georgia peach shipments – grossing about $3400 to Boston.
South Carolina Peach Shipments
Titan Farms in Ridge Spring, SC expects to ship its highest volume of fruit from mid July through August, while winding down the season in early September. Titan is believed to be South Carolina’s largest peach shipper.
South Carolina is loading about 200 truck loads of peaches weekly, with volume still increasing.
South Carolina peaches – grossing about $3100 to New York City.
New Jersey Peach Shipments
New Jersey peach shipments are expected to be good this season when it kicks off in late July. We’ll have more details soon.
Here is an outlook for stone fruit shipments ranging from Georgia and South Carolina to California and Washington state. Also, are California vegetable shipments getting over the ups and downs caused by shipping gaps from the coastal areas?
Initial Georgia peach shipments from the Fort Valley area got underway the week of May 18th. With the arrival of June, Georgia peaches are now moving in good, steady volume. Shipments should continue most of the summer…..South Carolina peach shipments are on a similar schedule with a little more volume.….Meanwhile, California stone fruit moves into volume beginning in late June and continuing through July….Washington state stone fruit shipments will build in volume in August for peak peach shipments during September.
California vegetable shipments this spring have been anything but good and predictable for produce haulers. Is that about to change? Maybe, but don’t necessarily bet on it.
Hot weather in the early spring with shipments out of the desert areas and then the Huron District of the San Joaquin Valley, vegetables were maturing ahead of schedule. However, with the seasonal shift of California vegetables to the coastal areas, colder than normal weather has put harvest and shipments later than usual. It also has resulted in shipping gaps and lighter than normal volumes in many cases.
Produce truckers should find good seasons ahead for two of Georgia most popular agricultural commodities – Vidalia sweet onions and peaches.
The largest amount of Vidalia onion shipments is expected since 2011. The industry may ship at least 5 million 40-pound equivalents this year, which would be close to its 10-year average. In other words, an average size crop is seen. The past three years have been rough on Vidalia onion shipments because of downy mildew, seed stems and freezing temperatures hitting shortly before harvest in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The reported total volumes shipped in the past three seasons were:
- 2012 — 4.4 million 40-pound equivalents;
- 2013 — 5.6 million 40-pound equivalents;
- 2014 — 4.7 million 40-pound equivalents.
Georgia Peach Shipments
Growers anticipate seeing the first shipments of fruit the week of May 18th. Varieties include the Flavorich, which will start around Memorial Day, all the way to the August Prince in late August. Weather has been on the side of Georgia peach growers so far this year. Each year, Georgia produces more than 80 million pounds of the fruit from mid-May to mid-August, and the vast majority of fruit is picked, packed and shipped the same day.
90 percent of Georgia Peaches are grown in a 10,000-acre area known as the Fort Valley Plateau.
Georgia peach shipments got off to a very light start a couple of weeks ago, but should experience a significant volume increase by the middle of June. However, the best loading opportunities from the Fort Valley area will take place during the month of July. Shipments should continue until at least the middle of August. So far, Georgia peach loadings have been only about 30 percent of normal due to a harsh winter and early spring weather conditions.
Meanwhile, South Carolina peach shipments only started about a week ago, which like Georgia, are running a week or two later than normal. The best loading opportunities for South Carolina peaches will be from about mid July until the middle of August, with the season ending by Labor Day.
Here’s a preview of Georgia peach shipments and South Carolina peach shipments, which will be starting soon. Additionally, most loading opportunities for potatoes around the country these day are limited mostly to three states.
Shipments of Georiga peaches will be light, especially when loadings get underway the first half of May, thanks in part to a late March freeze. The first half of June will also see lighter-than-normal volume. However, with the maturing of later variety Georgia peaches, the month of July should experience more normal shipments.
Most of the peach shippers are located in the Fort Valley area, just south of Macon.
South Carolina peach loadings typically follow Georgia’s start about a week or so later. Carolina peaches also were hit by that March freeze and if anything, suffered more damage than Georgia. Intial reports indicate South Carolina lost at least half of its peach crop. The only sales of Carolina peaches in May and June will be locally. There should be better volume in July.
Potato Shipments
Although there are a few other states in the mix when it comes to current potato shipments, Idaho easily is leading the pack, followed by Colorado and Wisconsin.
Wisconsin and Colorado russet potato shipments should remain steady heading into summer. However, volume from the nation’s biggest shipper, Idaho, could decline some in May and June.
Idaho is averaging about 1700 truckload equivalents of spuds being shipped each week. Colorado is a distant second with around 600 truckloads weekly, and Wisconsin is third at about 300 truckloads per week.
In the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota about half of the sheds continue to ship, mostly red potatoes. Some of those packinghouse will close for the season anytime now, others will be following in May and only one or two sheds will still be shipping in June.
Idaho potato shipments – grossing about $3000 to Chicago.
Colorado potato shipments – about $2900 to Atlanta.
Wisconsin potato shipments – about $34oo to New York City.